An Oakland County man is suing Internet giants YouTube and Google after YouTube refused to remove disparaging videos posted by his daughter, who is part of a group many call a cult, attorneys said in a recent filing.

Rochester resident Rick Frazier filed against the video company — which is owned by Google — on Monday, Feb. 8, in Oakland County Circuit Court for more than $25,000 in damages. His complaint also asked the Oakland court to order YouTube to remove the videos.

Frazier alleges that YouTube violates their own privacy guidelines because the company refused to take down malicious videos posted by his 18-year-old daughter, Katie, who now lives with her mother in Missouri.

“This man has committed villainous acts that no one is holding him responsible for. The citizens of his community need to stand up and take action.”

Attorneys for Rick Frazier say in the complaint that Frazier’s other children, who are minors, are undergoing counseling due to the fact that their friends, classmates and members of their church have seen the videos.

“The continued support of Katie Frazier, et al.’s videos is therefore endangering not only to Mr. Frazier, but his minor children,” attorneys argued.

“As it relates to all of the claims and statements defendants are publishing, none of them have any basis in fact and each of them is patently false.”

One of the exhibits in the filing is a series of emails between Frazier’s attorneys and the YouTube legal team. In them YouTube contended that Frazier file a lawsuit against the people who actually posted the videos, and that they would assist if the user was anonymous.

“As we are not in a position to adjudicate the veracity of postings, we do not remove content due to allegations of defamation,” the video service’s legal team wrote.

“Consistent with Section 230(c) of the Communications Decency Act, we recommend that you pursue any claims you may have directly against the person who posted the content.

“If your lawsuit results in a decision against the person who posted the content, and if that court order requires us to remove the content from our service, please reply to us and we will respond accordingly.”

Frazier’s attorney, Gavin J. Fleming, did not respond to The Oakland Press for comment for this story.

About the Author

John Turk covers the police beat and the Oakland County Board of Commissioners for The Oakland Press. He is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University. Reach the author at john.turk@oakpress.com
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